PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A song of blessing echoed through Bethany Lutheran Church on Wednesday morning as sunlight filtered through its stained-glass windows.
But community leaders say the story of the land beneath the church began long before the building was ever built.
The Oregon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church officially transferred the Northeast Portland property to the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), marking what organizers describe as a new model for the Land Back movement — one that transforms stolen sacred land into future housing for Native elders…